Spoils to the Victor
by ketchupblood
Summary: The Kid Pirates manage to win their battle, but they are in no shape to deal with another pirate in the aftermath of their victory. Minor spoiler warning for chapter 659.


In the end, they managed to win. Barely, but that type of shit didn't really matter. All that mattered was that the other pirates were dead and they were headed back to their ship to recuperate before enjoying their spoils. Kid hissed as he stumbled over a depression in the road. Fuck, that hurt.

"Keep moving, captain." Killer said from next to him, his arm around Kid's waist while Kid's was over his shoulder. Kid's stumble had pulled him down a bit, too, but he had only grimaced. Kid wasn't sure which of them was keeping the other up; probably they would both fall over if they weren't propping one another up.

Kid grinned at him-the grin felt too wide on his face and he probably looked manic. "Think you're-" he gasped from the pain, "-in charge?"

"Hardly." Killer sounded as out of breath as Kid felt, but he continued forward, forcing Kid with him.

Kid let the grin drop from his face. It hurt to keep it up, and that brief moment had split his lips again. Fuckers had gotten a few good blows in. His crew had still won, which was all that mattered, but he wished that they had won closer to their ship. That would have been nice.

They had never won by such a small margin before. It was thrilling-or it had been, when they had just won. Now they'd been walking for over an hour and they had longer to go before they could sit and nurse their wounds.

They couldn't sit now, though, no matter how nice that sounded. From the sound of Killer's hard breathing, even he wouldn't protest too much if Kid called them to a halt. Kid forced himself and, by extension, his crew to keep going anyway. Most of his crew, anyway. It didn't matter; there were more of them left than there were of the idiots who attacked them.

Eventually, the town came into sight. Kid took a deep breath to prepare himself. He usually loved this part, but he just didn't have the energy for it now. He had to put on a show, though. A pirate's ability to bluff was almost as important as his strength, especially when his crew was as weak as it was now. In a week or so, they could take anyone. Right now, he didn't think he could even fend off a group of villagers with pitchforks.

As prepared as he was going to get, Kid shoved off of Killer, who grunted, and announced for the world to hear, "This island is mine! All pirates who step here without my permission will be dealt with!"

Behind him, his crew laughed and jeered with as much force as they could muster at the villagers. The resentment coming from the villagers, all hidden away so maybe they couldn't hear just how feeble the crew sounded, was practically palpable. Kid tried to get his breath back.

"Captain," Killer began from beside him. Kid glared, not wanting to deal with anything at all right then, but Killer nodded towards a side street ahead of them.

Kid turned to see what Killer was pointing out and only just kept from cursing. His crew quieted.

"Well, well, well." He grinned widely and tensed, preparing to fight. Just the thought of fighting made him feel so tired, but a bluff probably wouldn't suffice here. "If it isn't the new Shichibukai himself."

Trafalgar pointedly looked him up and down, then turned his head slightly to the rest of Kid's crew.

"How is it, being the World Government's pet watchdog?" Kid kept talking as he reached out to the metal closest to him and felt it tremble, resisting his call.

Trafalgar rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "You're hardly in a position to 'deal with me,' Eustass," he said over his shoulder, "and I have more important things to tend to for the moment."

Kid called and the metal rushed to him. He hissed as the pieces attached themselves to him, the weight almost too much after that last battle, but ignored the pain and rushed forward to attack. In that perfectly clear split second while he was in motion, before Trafalgar turned back to him, time seemed to take too long. It was eerily silent, his crew behind him watching with bated breath and the villagers too frightened to make a noise.

The moment ended with a crushing pain in his gut as Trafalgar turned and shoved his knee up. Kid crumpled up at his feet, the metal falling from his arm. Through the pain, he was vaguely aware of Killer rushing forward to attack Trafalgar, and of the sickening crunch when his attack was repelled as easily as Kid's was. Bastard didn't even use his devil fruit power.

The rest of his crew didn't move, or if they did, they didn't get far enough for him to notice. Fuck, that hurt. Fuck, fuck, fuck, damn it. Kid struggled to get back up, only to be forced back onto the ground as his crew watched. His vision dimmed briefly from the pain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Trafalgar said calmly above him, his knee on Kid's back.

"Fuck you," Kid barely managed to spit it out, it hurt so much to speak.

"That wasn't a threat," Trafalgar continued, as if Kid hadn't said anything. "Your body can't take much more. You'll probably kill yourself without any help from me."

"The fuck," Kid gasped, the pain overcoming him for a moment, "do you want?"

Trafalgar smiled. It was hard for Kid to say, his vision blurred as it was from pain, but that smile looked bitter to him. "Nothing of yours. Though..." He knelt down and prodded at Kid's chest.

Kid swore and tried to keep his body from curling in on itself. Everyone was still watching. He could feel their eyes on him.

Trafalgar looked indecisive for a moment, but maybe it was just that Kid couldn't focus. "You need my help," he said.

Kid didn't bother to reply, just forced himself up to grab a knife that he'd called to himself earlier. Trafalgar easily pushed his arm away before he could do anything with it.

"You can refuse if you want." Trafalgar's eyes showed just how stupid he thought that choice would be. Kid growled. "But you will die without it."

"Fuck you."

"Your internal organs are seriously damaged. You can't even tell right now, but you won't last out the week as you are." Trafalgar leaned in, cocky and if Kid could just control his fucking body, there'd be no way he'd let Trafalgar in that close, "So what will it be, Eustass?"

"Fuck you."

"Will you beg?" Trafalgar got back up onto his feet. "Or will you die?"

"Fuck," Kid gasped as the pain wracked through his body again, "you." He tried to get up, but his arms and legs wouldn't support his weight.

Trafalgar laughed. "As you wish." He turned as if to leave again, and _damn it-_

"Please." Kid could barely hear himself, but Trafalgar stopped.

"What was that?" he asked, taunting.

Kid squeezed his eyes shut. He felt sick, thinking of the word. He could barely force the words out and when they came, they were gruff. "Please."

Trafalgar came back to him and crouched down again. "Please what?"

He felt like throwing up. "Please... help me."

"C-" Someone groaned. It was Killer, Killer thought. Probably. "Captain..."

Trafalgar laughed. "Since you asked so nicely, I'll even take care of your crew." He stood again. "Room."

Kid felt himself losing consciousness as Trafalgar's room swept over him.

"Oh, and Eustass?"

Kid struggled to remain conscious, but he was losing that battle fast.

"Congratulations on your victory."


End file.
